AMBER ALERT: MAY 4: Briant Rodriguez 3yrs old San Bernardino (FOUND SAFE)

[MuffyBee]

Abducted California boy reunites with his mother
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 16, 2009, 8:08PM

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A 3-year-old boy abducted from his family home in San Bernardino nearly two weeks ago by two armed men was reunited with his mother Saturday after police found him wandering a Mexican border town's streets, sheriff's officials said.

The reunion took place in the California border city of Calexico, a day after detectives and FBI agents received a call from officials in the neighboring Mexican city of Mexicali saying they found a boy that could be Briant Rodriguez, San Bernardino County sheriff's Lt. Rick Ells said.
<snipped>
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6427361.html

[no rose colored glasses]

That is excellent news 

[cookie]

Thank God!
this will be another fine example that we can say when people/parents are giving up hope! until there is a body and proof positive...never, ever give up hope...
What a miracle...
I know that these guys kidnapped this child for what ever reason, but thank God they let him go and did not kill him or give him to anyone else..this should go towards consideration when and if they are arrested...If there is no incentive to release children alive, then a kidnapper may kill the child since the sentence would be the same? what say you all about that? not to have sympathy towards these kidnappers through the courts, but to give the kidnapper more of a reason to release the child...Maybe they had second thoughts and decided not to harm him? For whatever reason, I am thankful that they did the right thing and released this child...my heart is happy!!!

[Tracygirl]

Can you imagine what this mother felt that very moment she held her son in her arms again after 2 weeks of hoping and praying he was live?

This is the way all of these stories should end, a child being reunited again with his/her mother.

Thank you God for protecting this child, may he live the rest of his life in peace.

[klaasend]

The sherriff that the press conference was almost in tears when he described the reunion of mother and child.  He said Briant ran up to his mom and grabbed onto her neck and just held on.

[klaasend]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520411,00.html




Abducted California Boy Found in Mexico, Reunited With Mother
Saturday , May 16, 2009


SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. —

A 3-year-old boy abducted from his family home in San Bernardino nearly two weeks ago by two armed men was reunited with his mother Saturday after police found him wandering a Mexican border town's streets, sheriff's officials said.

The reunion took place in the California border city of Calexico, a day after detectives and FBI agents received a call from officials in the neighboring Mexican city of Mexicali saying they found a boy that could be Briant Rodriguez, San Bernardino County sheriff's Lt. Rick Ells said.

Ells said a municipal police officer in Mexicali found the boy walking the streets by himself late Thursday. The officer initially thought the child was from the neighborhood and took him to several houses seeking his family before leaving him in child protective custody, Ells said.

Mexican authorities did not realize who the child was and didn't issue a missing child alert until Friday afternoon, he said.

Click here for photos.

Ells said Briant's mother, Maria Rosalina Millan, and investigators boarded a plane to Calexico Friday night. An FBI agent crossed the border and handled immigration paperwork for the boy, who holds dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship, he said.

The FBI agent brought Briant back across the border for the reunion Saturday, Ells said.

Ells had no details about the child's condition or how long he had been left alone.

Investigators were continuing to investigate why Briant was abducted and why his family was targeted. Millan said two men burst into her home on May 3, tied up the family, stole money and other property then left with her youngest child.

The kidnappers had not demanded a ransom and the initial investigation pointed to the kidnappers being strangers to the family.

Federal and local investigators were looking at several theories, including that the Spanish-speaking kidnappers were from Mexico and may have had ties to organized crime there.

Authorities later released a photo of two men they said were the kidnappers. The blurred image was taken from a surveillance camera in a home-improvement store as the men bought tape believed to have been used to bind Millan and her children.

The family lives in a modest, single-story home in a lower-income area abutting the city of San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

[BluesyGram]

WOW  This is a miracle.  His family must be ecstatic...especially his mother.  Thank you God.

[califmom]

This is wonderful news!!  Prayers have been answered!!! Thank You, God!!

[JessStar]

This is such wonderful news.  My God the emotional roller coaster this mom must have gone through over the last two weeks.  She's just experienced unparalleled happiness.  God Bless her and her little boy, and God Bless law enforcement and the ordinary people who helped find this little child that weren't afraid to speak up.

[no rose colored glasses]

http://**/news/ci_12386089            Looks like detectives are closing in on an arrest of the men that did this.

[BluesyGram]

http://**/news/ci_12386089            Looks like detectives are closing in on an arrest of the men that did this.

I saw a Dateline or 20/20 about kidnappings happening in Phoenix the other night.  Can't remember the number of these 'home-invasion' kidnappings per year but it was over 200..and the police said that they 'just found out' that the real number is more than doubled that.  The families that this happens to are 'targeted' and are involved in drugs and the families pay the ransom on their own and most don't call police.

Now with little Briant found safe, I will make some remarks on a couple of things that struck me as odd when they were first reporting this kidnapping.

One, the house is located in a 'poor' area of town...and the kidnappers stole a little money..but left the flat screen TV's (plural).  Now, it isn't that I don't think poor people deserve a good TV...but, geez....how could they afford that? and more than one? 

Two...the father constantly covered his face w/his hands.  Can't look anyone in the eye?  OK  And perhaps because of guilt because he wasn't there..perhaps he would have been the victim instead of the baby.

Now, since this is probably an organized 'ring'...hopefully they get the family into some secret place before they arrest the people that did the kidnapping..otherwise, they might be victims of a retaliation.   They may arrest these guys..but the ring could send more after them.

This guy is only the daddy of Briant IIRC, so probably that is why he was taken and not any of the other children.  Hopefully, this mother does the right thing and get the he!! out of there.

[cookie]

Bluesy...I had thought noticed and commented as well that the father would never show his face...if he was on camera, he had a hat on and his hands covered his face...
you do bring up a lot of good points....
the best thing is that Briant is safe....
but as has been mentioned on here as well, why the large reward and by who put the money up....raises some eyebrows in my opinion...

[BluesyGram]

Bluesy...I had thought noticed and commented as well that the father would never show his face...if he was on camera, he had a hat on and his hands covered his face...
you do bring up a lot of good points....
the best thing is that Briant is safe....
but as has been mentioned on here as well, why the large reward and by who put the money up....raises some eyebrows in my opinion...

The other thing I was wondering...Did the FBI put/pay a ransom to get him back?
Not that I really care, we waste a lot of money in this country...that a ransom to get a child back would be money well spent.

[Toler]

The suspects, both believed to be hiding in Mexico, are accused of taking Briant Rodriguez on May 3 after tying up his mother and four of his siblings. No motive has been released.

Authorities said they found evidence at the crime scene that links Israel Ledesma Moreno, 27, and Liberato Vega, 30, to the kidnapping. State and federal warrants were issued against both men, who were in the country illegally and have a history of minor crimes in Southern California, FBI and San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said.

Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Phelps declined to comment on whether the men knew Briant's family.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/16/state/n102357D13.DTL&tsp=1

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More at link

[cookie]

Hi Toler! Also I heard on JVM (?) that there was also a woman with them...

[Toler]

Hi cooks 

Oh, hadn't heard about a woman being with them. It'll be interesting to learn just WHY Briant, why his home? xx

[cookie]

Hi cooks 

Oh, hadn't heard about a woman being with them. It'll be interesting to learn just WHY Briant, why his home? xx

on one of those shows tonight, can't remember which one  one of the guests said that this home was for sure targeted....was not random...but why was it targeted, if indeed it was?
I would be moving fast! get that little boy outta there..
I will say it again, at least these thugs did not kill the little guy!

[Toler]

quote
I saw something on Fox News this morning. They were talking to a police officer, it may have been the one who found the child. I think it was Gretchen of Fox & Friends who asked the cop about the mother being here illegally, and he said that it didn’t matter what her immigrant status was. All that mattered was that the boy was a U.S. citizen. The cop said they couldn’t give a motive for the kidnapping, but were planning on releasing that information later today. I guess they didn’t get around to doing it. quote
=======================================================================

This quote is from a news forum, cookie...freerepublic. Looks as though they know the motive and were planning on releasing the info this afternoon? Seems they had a change of mind...wonder why?

[cookie]

quote
I saw something on Fox News this morning. They were talking to a police officer, it may have been the one who found the child. I think it was Gretchen of Fox & Friends who asked the cop about the mother being here illegally, and he said that it didn’t matter what her immigrant status was. All that mattered was that the boy was a U.S. citizen. The cop said they couldn’t give a motive for the kidnapping, but were planning on releasing that information later today. I guess they didn’t get around to doing it. quote
=======================================================================

This quote is from a news forum, cookie...freerepublic. Looks as though they know the motive and were planning on releasing the info this afternoon? Seems they had a change of mind...wonder why?

hmmmmm  yes, wonder why....

[Toler]

Police name two suspects in kidnapping of 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez
7:26 AM | May 19, 2009
 Authorities have identified two men they believe kidnapped 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez from his San Bernardino home along with a woman they describe as a "person of interest" in the case.

The suspects, Liberato Vega, 30, and Israel Ledesma Moreno, 28, may be in Mexico, and warrants have been issued for their arrest, said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Jodie Miller. Both are illegal immigrants who have been deported before.

Vega's girlfriend, Claudia Acosta-Serrano, 21, is wanted for questioning, Miller said.

Briant was kidnapped May 3 after two men ransacked the home, tied up his family and took him away at gunpoint. He was found in Mexicali, Mexico, last Thursday and was reunited with his mother Saturday.

No motive for the kidnapping has been established. Sheriff's investigators and the FBI said Monday that they had not ruled out a possible narcotics connection but did not elaborate. Rodriguez's parents are not suspects.

-- David Kelley


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/police-searching-for-suspects-in-kidnapping-of-briant-rodriguez.html